ED seizes cryptocurrency worth Rs 90 crore in online gaming app probe

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized Rs 90 crore from cryptocurrency wallets of exchanges including Binance, ZebPay, and WazirX, as part of a money laundering investigation linked to an online gaming app 'E-Nugget'.

The scam app, posing as a gaming platform, promised high returns to users. An FIR at Kolkata's Park Street Police Station led to the ED case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The investors found themselves stranded after the guise of the app was crushed following investments.

The ED brought forth the app’s illegal activities in 2022 and revealed that some of the illicit gains were invested in digital assets. Almost 2,500 dummy bank accounts were identified. ED seized around Rs 90 crore in 70 accounts. The accounts were linked to the scam after gathering information from Binance and other exchanges.

Aamir Khan and Romen Agarwal were arrested in the scam and a charge sheet was filed. The agency seized, attached or froze a total of Rs 163 crore worth of assets in this case, including cash, cryptocurrencies, bank account balances, and offices.